The Fantastic Four: First Steps hit theaters on July 25th, raking in $506.3 million worldwide, surpassing both projections and this year’s Superman. The film is the second reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise on the big screen, and the first under Disney/Marvel’s leadership. The Fantastic Four are a family of superheroes who get their powers from cosmic radiation after a trip to space goes awry. Mr. Fantastic, or Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), is the smartest man in the universe. His wife, the Invisible Woman, or Susan Storm (Vanessa Kirby), can both wield force fields and invisibility. Her brother, the Human Torch, or Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), can fly and, well, is a human torch. Thing, or Benjamin Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), was transformed into a rock-like being with super strength. 

It’s important to note that this movie takes place in Earth-828, a separate universe in the MCU multiverse, not Earth-616, where the vast majority of Marvel movies have taken place. This is why in the film, there is no mention of the Avengers or other familiar heroes, as the Fantastic Four are the protectors of New York and beyond.

The conflict of the film involves Galactus, a celestial giant who consumes planets to survive. The Silver Surfer informs Earth and the Fantastic Four of Galactus’ impending arrival, setting off a daring fight to save the planet. The complicated layer is that Susan Storm gives birth to the newest member of the family while in space, and baby Franklin becomes a piece of the puzzle that is stopping Galactus. 

The movie is a departure from the typical elements of Marvel productions, with almost no connections to other movies (almost, save for the post credit scene), a very different soundtrack (with an amazing theme) by Michael Giacchino (who composed the F4-esque Incredibles soundtrack), and a unique storyline, particularly as the movie is set in the 1960s. Of course, that doesn’t stop futuristic tech like faster-than-light space travel from playing a prevalent role.

All in all, the movie was definitely better than what we’ve seen from Marvel as of late, but still felt relatively generic in terms of the storyline and characters. To be fair, this rendition of the franchise scored a Rotten Tomatoes score higher than all past Fantastic Four movies combined. Between this and the new Superman, it does seem as though DC & Marvel can still produce new, fun films, but originality is a must.